Those Awkward Years
by Pied Piper 1830
Summary: A brief story about when the boy Sasuke becomes a man.


Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto universe or any characters therein.

Author's Note: this story takes place during the period of time where Sasuke trained with Orochimaru. It is inspired by the 7th grade students I taught.

**Those Awkward Years**

It started with a dream.

Sasuke's dreams were normally filled with violence – either nightmares from his past or hopes of what the future held. Normally, however, he didn't dream. In fact, he considered dreams a sign that he hadn't trained hard enough the previous day.

But these new dreams were different. Instead of violence and hate, they were filled with . . an emotion he couldn't quite name. Instead of his brother, girls from Konoha filled the lead roles, only he was seeing them in ways he had never before. Instead of nuisances, they were . . . attractive? He didn't know.

It continued with a wet bed.

Perhaps he was so worn out from training that he had failed to realize his bladder was full? But it didn't look like urine . . .

The last straw, however, was when he woke up and a certain part of his body (one he did not normally think or talk about) was behaving strangely. It appeared to be swollen and was more sensitive to the touch than normal. The swelling eventually went down (the last thing he wanted was the necessity of an examination by Kabuto, especially with a problem _there_), but the process of it doing so was extremely uncomfortable. But what was causing it? The only thing Sasuke could think of was the curse. Were there lingering effects? There was only one way he could find out, though the conversation was not one he was looking forward to.

_The next morning _

Orochimaru stared as Sasuke-kun explained his "problem," then blinked in confusion at his student's unlikely conclusion. The curse mark? The boy had obviously begun to hit puberty, but then again – it's no wonder he didn't know the signs. With his entire family killed when he was so young, Sasuke-kun would have had no one to explain it to him. It was a little sad, actually.

Wait.

Shit.

Suddenly, the perfect vessel; a prized Uchiha genius, vanished. In his place was a boy whose face was covered in acne and irregular patches of facial hair. His arms and legs did not fit his body; his voice cracked at inopportune times. He had not yet learned the value of deodorant, and he was even moodier than before, if that was even possible. Was it worth it? If Tsunade wanted Sasuke-kun so badly, she could have him – BO and all. Heck, Orochimaru would escort him back himself. Maybe the boy with the Byuokugan had already matured past the awkward years.

But once the shock cleared, Orochimaru found himself thinking a bit more clearly. There was no need to over-react, especially when, if handled correctly, he could deal with this whole situation in one conversation. Or he could let someone else do the talking . . .

"Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru began after a pause, "when a shinobe reaches a certain level of strength, his body must begin to change for him to be able to reach new levels. You have been pushing yourself these past weeks, so your body must be starting to do this change."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why would this 'change' start where it did?"

Orochimaru sighed and rubbed his temple. "This is a complex situation that I admit goes far beyond my abilities to understand. I will send for some reading that you may find enlightening. If you have any questions after that, I believe Kabuto knows more about this than I."

_A week later_

Sasuke walked into his room after a long day's training and noticed a few books beside his bed that had not been there that morning. He scanned the titles, realizing they must be the ones Orochimaru said he would send for. Most had titles that didn't surprise him: A Changing Shinobe's Body, and The New You. However, he stared at the last one in shock. Make-Out Paradise? What the hell?

Then his eyes widened. All this time he thought Kakashi had been reading some lame book on girls, when really he had been preparing for when he and Naruto reached this level. His admiration for the Copy-cat ninja grew slightly. Eagerly, Sasuke sat down on his bed and began to read, ready to find out what "changes" were going on in his body.

_The next morning_

"Did you enjoy your books Sasuke-kun?"

"Shut up."

_Fin_


End file.
